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The Matrix Code Was Inspired By Japanese Cookbooks

The secret behind the famous code from Lana and Lilly Wachowski's The Matrix series has been revealed. For those that don't know, the trilogy of movies takes place in a dystopian future in which sentient machines have implanted humans in a simulated reality known as the Matrix. In this neuro-interactive reality, the remaining human population lives their daily lives while unwittingly providing the Machines with the necessary sustenance (through the human's brain activity) they need to survive.

A stream of green-colored code appears on-screen when someone enters the Matrix (via an operator), and that code has become synonymous with the franchise while also remaining among the series' most unique aspects. The Wachowskis have made no secret that the movies were heavily influenced by Japanese animation, and the code itself was inspired by the opening credits of Mamoru Oshii's 1995 Japanese film, Ghost in the Shell. What's more, the code is written entirely in Japanese, but no one has been able to decipher what the text actually reads until now.

Simon Whiteley, the uncredited designer of The Matrix's code and title sequence, recently told CNet that the stream of code is sensical to an extent. The entire code is comprised of random sushi recipes taken from one of his wife's cookbooks. Whiteley said: “I like to tell everybody that The Matrix’s code is made out of Japanese sushi recipes. Without that code, there is no Matrix.”

The reason people weren't able to decipher what The Matrix code meant was because the code contained recipes that were jumbled and disordered. If that was the only mystery surrounding the series then fans would be done questioning the meaning of The Matrix, but it isn't. Many questions about the franchise and, in particular, Neo's (Keanu Reeves) story remain unanswered, but those questions may come in the form of a potential relaunch currently being written by Pacific Rim Uprising screenwriter Zak Penn.

The original trilogy - comprised of The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) - contained an open-ended story that could be continued in various ways. Some of those ways have been through anime, video games, and comic books. It's possible that Penn, who refuted the notion that he's rebooting The Matrix franchise, is creating a new anthology series set within the established continuity. The relaunch is still in the early stages, so concrete details won't be available for quite some time. If another project within The Matrix universe moves forward, though, it should be expected that the sushi-themed code moves along with it.